Loose-leaf index.



J. A. BEST.

LOOSE LEAF INDEX.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1910.

Patented June 24 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANoaRAPH C0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

J. A. BEST.

LOOSE LEAF INDEX,

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1910.

Patented June 24, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA' PIANOGMPH C0. WAU'UNBTCN, li. C,

.Tenn AUSTIN BEST, or AUGUSTA, GEORGIA.

Loose-LEAF INDEX.

Specification of Letters 'atent.

Patented June 24, 1913.

Application tiled September 24, 1910. Serial No. 583,567.

To all whom @'25 may concern Be it known that I, Jol-IN AUSTIN Bns'r, 'a citizen of the United States, residing at Augusta, in the county of Richmond and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Loose-Leaf Indexes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it a-ppertains to make and use the same. n

The present invention is in the nature of an improved loose leaf index which embodies novel features of construction whereby names, places, accounts, and the like, may be indexed in such a manner as to admit of reference being quickly and conveniently made thereto at any time.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a loose leaf index in which the data is placed upon4 thin sheets o-f vmaterial such as can be readily operated upon by atypewriter, and' in which dead names can be readily removed and new names inserted in proper alphabetical position.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a loose leaf index which is simple and inexpensive in its construction, and which will very materially decrease the amount of clerical labor incident to accurately maintaining indexes of les, accounts, or other desired data.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain combinations and arrangements of the parts as will more fullyappear as the description proceeds, the novel features thereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following de scription and accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a front elevation of one embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the same. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a modified form of the invention. Fig. 5 is a rear view of the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken through the upper portion of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a face view of a still further modification of the invention, and Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view through the form of the invention shown in Fig. 7

Corresponding and like parts 'are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The invention consists essentially in the idea of folding a series of loose sheets over one enge of a card and in removably securing the loose sheets to the card, the edge of each sheet on they front of the card projecting beyond the edge of the sheet immediately above the same so as to leave an exposed space for the reception of indexing data. Specifically describing one embodiment of the invention, the numeral l designates a card whichmay be formed of any suitable material such as card board, and 2 a back which is carried by the card l and is shown as extending upwardly slightly above the same. In the present instance the card l and back 2 are connected at their lower edges and are formed by suitably folding a single sheet of card board. A series of loose leaves 3 are folded over the upper edge of the card l and extend downwardly upon opposite sides thereof, the portions of the leaves at the back of the card being received between the said card and the back 2 so as to be protected by the latter when the device is withdrawn from its position in a case and placed upon a table or desk. At the front of the card l, the lower edge of each of the leaves 3 projects beyond the lower edge of the leaf immediately above the same so as to leave an exposed space for a name or other data such as that indicated at 4. The unexposed portion of each of the loose leaves 3 may be utilized for an account or other suitable data as indicated at 5, and this data may be quickly exposed by lifting the leaves above the same. The data 5 upon the front leaf would, of course, be always exposed, and reference could very quickly be made to the data upon any of the other leaves by merely lifting the leaves above the same, as previously mentioned. Should it be desired to utilize the device for indexing files, suitable characters such as the numbers 6 would also be pla-ced upon the exposed edges of the leaves 3. The various loos-e leaves 3 are all of the same size and can be very quickly removed from the card l so as to be replaced by other leaves or have additional matter typewritten thereon. The

diiiiculty of typewriting upon thick cards is 1 thereby eliminated, and dead names can be removed from the index and additional Any suitable means may be employed for retaining the various leaves upon the card 1,

and in the form of invention illustrated by Fig. 1, an elastic band 7 is utilized, the said elastic band also extending around the backv 2 so as to hold the said back against the card 1, and being received within notches S formed in the sides thereof. This elastic band carries an index tab 9.which extends upwardly above the back 2 and indicates briefly the subject-matter indexed upon the loose leaves 3. A series of the cards would be placed in a suitable cabinet, and these tabs 9 would enable the card containing the desired matter to be very quickly located and withdrawn from the cabinet. In this particular form of the invention, the ends of the elastic band 7 are overlapped at the rear of the back 2 and secured together by a series of clips 10, the lower end of the tab 9 being received between the overlapped ends of the elastic band and being retained against lateral movement by a pair of the clips 10 which are located adjacent the edges thereof. This elastic bandr7 can be quickly removed and the card 1 swung forwardly away from the back 2 when it is desired to remove any of the loose leaves 3 for any purpose such as replacing the same with new leaves or inserting new data thereon.

Another form of my invention is shown in F ig. l, in which the card 1a and back 2a are constructed substantially as previously described, wit-h the exception that they are not provided with notches corresponding to the notches 8. The loose leaves 3a are applied to the card 1u in the same manner, and are held in position thereon by means of an elastic band 7LL the ends of which are de tachably connected in some suitable manner as by means of the cooperating hook members 11. By disconnecting the ends of the elastic band, the card 1L can be swung outwardly away from the back 2, and the leaves 3a rearranged or replaced as may be desired. The elastic band is shown as threaded through a series of slots 12 in the back 2, and the index tab 9a has the lower end thereof clamped between a portion of the elastic band and the back 2a.

A still further modification of the invention is shown in Fig. 7 in which the leaves 3b are folded over the edge of a card 1b as in the previous instance, and are retained in position upon the card by means of a metallic clip 13. One of the arms of this clip is returned upon itself to form a second oppositely facing clip 14 adapted to engage the index tab 9b. The back embodied in the previous forms of the invention is entirely omitted, and this form of the invention is more particularly adapted for indexing tiles or other matter where the loose leaves will merely contain the name or title of the matter being indexed.

Having thus ydescribed the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character described, a card folded intermediate of its ends to form substantially parallel spaced portions, and separable sheets or leaves folded o-n the upper edge of one of` said portions of the folded card, said sheets or leaves having one of their terminals confined between the two portions of the card, the other terminals of the sheets or leaves lying on the outer side of the card, means for holding the sheets and card in assembled positions, the edges of the last mentioned sheet terminals being in stepped relationship for the entry of indexing indicia.

2. In a device of. the character described, a supporting card folded intermediate o-f its ends and providing substantially parallel spaced portions the rear portion of the card having its free terminal extending beyond the free terminal of the front portion of the card, a plurality of separable sheets or leaves mounted on the free terminal of the fro-nt portion of the card and bent to engage the front side of the card and to be confined between the front and rear portions thereof, the front edges of said leaves being in stepped relation, and means engaging said card and leaves to hold them together, said holding means being provided with an index tag.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN AUSTIN BEST. lVitnesses:

W. L. Harel-Inn, Enw. J. MULHERIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. l 

